"Berlin" by LOU REED [feat Steve Winwood, Jack Bruce and Steve Hunter] (1998 RCA Records/BMG CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Beautifully Sad..."

Few albums polarise people (and fans) more than the terminally bleak yet brutally truthful "Berlin". It took me years to like it - and even now in 2016 - there are parts of Side 1 I can't bear to listen to.

But when I play "The Kids", "The Bed" and especially "Sad Song" from Side 2 all in a row - I also think it may be one of 'the' great unsung-masterpieces of the Seventies.

Some thought at the time that "Berlin" was uniformly cold and distant as all around Lou Reed seemed to be descending into a self-afflicted drug-addiction Hell. The infamous Rolling Stone review called it 'offensive' and wished it didn't exist somehow - while another more positive reappraisal likened its more grandiose moments to the inventiveness of "Sgt. Peppers". It also seemed like the Louster was trying to tear down the Glam Rock image and popularity of his huge "Transformer" album from 1972 with the monster "Walk On The Wild Side" hit single thrilling everybody (including David Bowie fans).

But "Berlin" was very different. Not a concept LP – not quirky happy-wappy crossover Pop either - just uber-realistic – aimless lives ending in casually bleak ways. It was probably just too much and too realistic for its 1973 audience - what with Cocaine and Heroin destroying everything around them and rendering certain areas of many US cities no-go zones (the same applied to cities in Europe too). "Berlin" only reached No. 98 in the US Pop & Rock LP charts - but faired much better in Blighty managing an impressive No. 7. Either way - I'd argue that the album's best moments are 'beautifully sad' and truly amazing. Lou Reed's "Berlin" sounds like no other record of the period. Which brings us to this exceptionally well remastered CD of it. Here are the doom 'n' gloom details...

UK released March 1998 (reissued in May 2003) – "Berlin" by LOU REED on RCA 07863 67489 2 (Barcode 078636748924) is a straightforward CD Remaster of the 10-track 1973 VINYL LP and plays out as follows (49:34 minutes):

1. Berlin

2. Lady Day

3. Men Of Good Fortune

4. Caroline Says I

5. How Do You Think It Feels

6. Oh Jim [Side 2]

7. Caroline Says II

8. The Kids

9. The Bed

10. Sad Song

Tracks 1 to 10 are his 3rd Solo album "Berlin" – released October 1973 in the USA on RCA Records APL1-0207 and in the UK on RCA Victor RS 1002. Produced by BOB EZRIN – it peaked at No. 98 in the US LP charts and No. 7 in the UK.

The CD Reissue supervised by PAUL WILLIAMS - the famously elaborate 'booklet' that accompanied original vinyl copies has been reproduced in the elaborate 12-leaf foldout inlay. You get those heavy-hitting lyrics, album and reissue credits and a critique of the record and its cultural impact by MICHAEL HILL. In his overview he claims (and rightly to) that the album reveals the 'real' Lou Reed - an invested yet aloof outsider commenting on a lifestyle and people he knew all too well. But the big news is the Audio Restoration done by BILL LACEY and MIKE HARTRY that is gorgeous. You can really hear Jack Bruce's Bass contributions on "Caroline Says I" and Steve Hunter's guitar on "How Do You Think It Feels" as well as Michael and Randy Brecker on the Horns.

As if a precursor to the doom-to-come - "Berlin" opens with a grotesque 'Happy Birthday To You' racket from some drunken bar that slowly segues into a lone piano and Lou whispering in echoed vocals about a five-foot ten-inches-tall lady in Berlin. He sings of 'paradise' but it feels like he's channelling the saddest Tom Waits observation. RCA USA tried "Lady Day" as the B-side to "How Do You Think It Feels" on 45 in October 1973 (RCA 0172) - bit no one noticed either side. Steve Winwood (of Traffic and Blind Faith) guests to on Organ and Harmonium to great effect ably helped by Procol Harum's B.J. Wilson on Drums. But that caustic number is as nothing to the poisonous "Men Of Good Fortune" - a song that plays of 'men of good fortune' against 'men of poor beginnings' with neither coming off particularly well. The first of the "Caroline Says" songs hits you next where she 'can't help but be mean' and wants our Lou to be more ‘manly’. The Side ends on "How Do You Think It Feels" - a straightforward question about the effects of speed pills. But my fave is the threesome of songs that end the record - "The Kids", "The Bed" and the amazing "Sad Song".

A junkie-mum is having her children taken away from her in "The Kids" where Lou probably did his 'best guy in the world' ratings no favours with lines like "...in the alleys and bars she couldn't be beat...the miserable rotten slut couldn't turn anyone away..." If that sounds cold and brutal – it is – but the soft acoustic strumming that accompanies the seven and half minutes of the song make it feel crushingly sad and real and truthful and somehow not nearly as mean and detached as it sounds. The same softly approach comes with "The Bed" – a song about a woman who took her life in the bed where the singer’s children were conceived (nice). It ends on the truly beautiful and fully orchestrated "Sad Song" - a full on seven-minute masterpiece that amazes me even now.

I suppose only a curmudgeon like Lou Reed could have made "Berlin" - poised to take the world by its 'wild side' - but instead he depresses the crap out of all and sundry. Will we ever see the like of his opinionated genius ever again...

"Streetlights" by BONNIE RAITT (2001 Warner Brothers 'Remasters' Series CD)

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"...That Song About The Midway..."

Part of the 2001 "Remasters" reissues - "Streetlights" was Bonnie's 4th album - a far more mellow and funky-commercial affair than the three bluesy outings that preceded it. It's also top heavy with cover versions from some of her favourite writers like Allen Toussaint, Joni Mitchell and John Prine - whilst collectors will know that members of Little Feat contributed their penny's worth too. Here are the street-savvy details...

UK released October 2001 - "Streetlights" by BONNIE RAITT on Warner Brothers 8122-78380-2 (Barcode 081227838027) plays out as follows (37:03 minutes):

1. That Song About The Midway [Joni Mitchell]

2. Rainy Day Man [James Taylor]

3. Angel From Montgomery [John Prine]

4. I Got Plenty [Jim Carroll & Joey Levine]

5. Streetlights [Bill Payne]

6. What Is Success [Allen Toussaint] – Side 2

7. Ain't Nobody Home [Jerry Ragovoy]

8. Everything That Touches You [Michael Kamen]

9. Got You On My Mind [Alley Willis and David Lasley]

10. You Got To Be Ready For Love (If You Wanna Be Mine) [Lou Courtney]

Tracks 1 to 10 are her 4th album "Streetlights" – released October 1974 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2818 and November 1974 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56075

The 3-way fold out inlay gives you track-by-track musician credits but there's no lyrics or attempt any new liner notes. The Remasters Series has been co-ordinated by GREG GELLER and JO MOTTA while LEE HERSCHBERG carried out the excellent Remaster. Every track is warm and full of presence - this was a superbly recorded album with top quality players and the transfer reflects this big time.

After three pretty straightforward Blues-Rock LPs – 1974's "Streetlights" saw Bonnie in a very mellow mood. It opens with her gorgeous acoustic take on Joni Mitchell's "That Song About The Midway" singing "...I found you in a trailer in some camping ground..." and you know both Joni & Bonnie have this degenerate gambler down. I've always loved her Funky choices of songs too – the rock-slink of Allen Toussaint's "What Is Success" – a low-down groove with top session players like keyboardist Leon Pendarvis laying down licks throughout that add so much to the overall (he was once with Lonnie Liston Smith's Cosmic Echoes). Again the players add top class to Michael Kamen's "Everything That Touches You" – Jeff Minirov and John Tropea playing so sweet on those guitars. And a forgotten nugget is "Got You On My Mind" – a pretty lilting tune with Jerry Ragovoy arrangements that sound almost Burt Bacharach at times. Ace sessionman Steve Gadd on drums throughout too...

Good album rather than a great one - but even good by Bonnie is more than ok with me...

"His California Album" by BOBBY 'BLUE' BLAND (1991 MCA Records CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...I Keep Coming Back For More..."

I've been meaning to review this fantastic Soul album probably for the guts of 20 years or more.

Tennessee's Robert Calvin 'Bobby "Blue" Bland' put out his first long-player "Two Steps from The Blues" in January 1961 on Duke Records. It was a 12-track ragbag of Duke 7" singles - some titles stretching back as far as March 1957. Universal have honoured that sterling beginning as part of a fabulous CD Series they released Stateside in February 2001 called "Blues Classics - Remastered & Revisited" - 11 titles - and Bland's debut "Two Steps From The Blues" has pride of place amongst them (see separate reviews for all 11 titles).

From there on in - the rasping singer moved ever further away from his Blues and R&B roots and embraced Soul Music for the rest of his career. Which brings us to the two albums he made with Dunhill Records in the USA - kicking off his Seventies output. First up was October 1973's "His California Album", following by another absolute masterpiece - "Dreamer" in August 1974. He would go on to make three more albums for ABC - "Get On Down With Bobby Bland" in September 1975, "Reflections In Blue" in May 1977 and "Come Fly With Me" in June 1978 - eventually signing to MCA Records in 1979 for "I Feel Good, I Feel Fine".

But for many fans - the duo of LPs he made in California with Dunhill in '73 and '74 remain something of a Soul Holy Grail. Which brings us around to this great sounding but naffly presented American CD reissue from way back in August of 1991 (reissued several times since with no upgrades, May 1998 and October 2004). It offers little by way of info but man it sounds fab. Here are the details...

Originally USA released 13 August 1991 - "His California Album" by BOBBY BLUE BLAND on MCA Records MCA 10349 (Barcode 008811034924) is a straightforward transfer of the 1973 US Soul album and plays out as follows (38:08 minutes):

1. This Time I'm Gone For Good

2. Up And Down World

3. It's Not The Spotlight

4. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right

5. Goin' Down Slow

6. The Right Place At The Right Time [Side 2]

7. Help Me Through The Day

8. Where My Baby Went

9. Friday The 13th Child

10. I've Got To Use My Imagination

Tracks 1 to 10 are the LP "His California Album" - released October 1973 in the USA on ABC/Dunhill Records DSX-50163 and May 1974 in the UK on Probe SPB 1088. Produced by STEVE BARRI - it peaked at No. 3 in the US R&B LP charts and No. 136 on the US Pop charts (didn't chart in the UK).

Musicians:

BOBBY 'BLUE' BLAND – Vocals

BEN BENAY, DAVID COHEN, LARRY CARLTON, DEAN PARKS and MEL BROWN – Guitars

MICHAEL OMARTIAN – Piano and Organ

CHUCK FINDLEY, DICK HYDE, ERNIE WAYS, JACK KELSEY, Jr. and PAUL HUBINON – Horns

MAX BENNETT and WILDON FELDER (of The Crusaders) – Bass

ED GREENE – Drums

GINGER BLAKE, JULIA TILLMAN and MAXINE WILLARD – Backing Vocals

SID SHARP – Concert Master for Strings

There is a gatefold slip of paper for an inlay with some very basic liner notes from ANDY McKAIE – a name associated with oodles of quality R&B and Soul reissues. Apart from telling you there may be some tape hiss inherent in the transfer process (a generic disclaimer on all those early MCA CDs) – there’s no mastering credits. Yet the album sounds amazing – beautifully rich. I would add however that in my ever-forward quest for better sound on this brilliant album – I bought and reviewed the "Greatest Hits Volume Two: The ABC-Dunhill/MCA Recordings" CD from 1998 for Bobby Bland precisely because it has a couple of the "California" LP tracks in remastered form on it done by the great ERICK LABSON. They sound awesome - but again - I reiterate - despite any lack of credits - the audio on this cheap-as-chips 1991 CD is really excellent...

You know you're in the presence of something special the moment the slow slinky Soul opener "This Time I'm Gone For Good" hits the speakers. Featuring his now trademark rasp (oh Lord!) - the Don Robey/Oscar Peter penned song was issued as a lead-off 45 for the album in November 1973 on ABC/Dunhill D-4369 with Side 2's "Where Baby Went" as its flip-side. While the Pop charts ignored it - the US R&B charts loved the song and rewarded it with a No. 5 position - his highest placing since "These Hands (Small But Mighty)" on Duke Records in 1965. To say they were a bit slow to follow-up is an understatement - Bland would have to wait until March of 1974 for the equally excellent "Goin' Down Slow" to be the next single off the LP - coupled with "Up And Down World" on ABC/Dunhill D-4379 which even then managed a respectable R&B chart placing of No. 17.

So many great songs – the 'V. Morrison' writer's credited alongside Mr. Don 'Dubious' Robey for "Up and Down World" is Vernon Morrison and not Belfast's Van - although the pair admired each other and would work together later in their careers. The fantastic and frankly beautiful "It's Not The Spotlight" written by Gerry Goffin with Barry Goldberg would be picked up on by Rod Stewart (smart boy) for his "Atlantic Crossing" LP in 1975 and by so many afterwards (love Beth Orton's version on her 1996 CD single for "She Calls Your Name").  Written by Homer Banks, Carl Hampton and Randy Jackson - the marital infidelity song "(If Loving is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right" is great Bobby Bland Soul. Luther Ingram had done a stone classic version of it in 1972 on Ko Ko Records. Rod Stewart would cover the torch song with the Faces and on his "Foot Loose & Fancy Free" album in 1977 (David Ruffin would have a go too in 1973 and Millie Jackson in 1974). Side 1 ends with the cool "Goin' Down Slow" - a tune that finally allows the musicians to spread out - Michael Omartian giving it some Piano and Organ throughout.

After the near perfection of Side 1 - Side 2 unfortunately has one or two 'not so good' tunes. The 'boppy' Soul of "The Right Place At The Right Time" is attributed to Don Robey but its chipper flicking-guitar and uptempo Brass feel ever so slightly forced - like they're looking for a hit single and not finding one. Things return to genius with his cover of Leon Russell's "Help Me Through The Day" - a gorgeous slow-paced Soulful rendering. Freddie King would also cut a Blues-Soulful rendering of it for his "Woman Across The River" album on Shelter Records in the same year (1973). "...I'm driving a broken-down car...cost me my every last cent...show me a man in a Cadillac...and I'll show you where my baby went..." poor Bobby moans in "Where My Baby Went" to an upbeat brassy backdrop. The bizarrely named "Friday The 13th Child" is a David Clayton-Thomas ballad and it turned up on the Blood, Sweat & Tears vocalist's 1972 "Tequila Sunrise" album on Columbia Records. The album ends on Goffin/King's "I've Got To Use My Imagination" - a return to the Side 1 form. The brass, the voice, the groove - brilliant...

The UK wouldn't see "His California Album" until May 1974 on Probe Records SPB 1088 (the last in the Probe SPB series) - only months before the October 1974 ABC Records released of "Dreamer" on ABC ABCL 5053. They didn't even try a 45 in the UK so it's no wonder the album sank without a trace. Sure the entire album isn't genius but the goodies far outweigh the ordinary any day of the week - and he would follow it with the brilliant "Dreamer" album in 1974.

"...If I ever feel the light again...shining down on me...I don't have to tell you...how welcome it will be..." - Bobby Bland sings during the moving, Soulful and profound "It's Not The Spotlight".

Welcome this beauty into your life - in whatever CD form you can find "His California Album" in...

"Foreigner" by CAT STEVENS - July 1973 UK and US LP on Island and A&M Records featuring Phil Upchurch, Paul Martinez, Herbie Flowers and Bernard Purdie (August 2000 UK Universal/Island CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Love Must’ve Made You On A Sunday..."

In truth - by the summer of 1973 - Cat Stevens was probably losing his audience. Released in July of that strange year for Rock music - "Foreigner” managed a No. 3 placing in the UK and US charts despite some critical reviews about its move away from simple three-minute songs. And 1974's occasionally musical mishmash "Buddah And The Chocolate Box" didn't help matters either. With a get-some-money-in-quick "Greatest Hits" in July 1975 - from thereon in - 1977"s "Izitso" saw him drop even further down the LP charts (No. 18) and 1979's "Back To Earth" didn't bother the UK Top 100 at all.

In fact for some fans his classic run of albums on the mighty Island Records ends with September 1972's "Catch Bull At Four". But I'd argue that the overlooked and now forgotten "Foreigner" LP is a bit of an unsung masterpiece - especially that fabulous 8-part "Foreigner Suite" occupying the whole of Side 1. And this little beauty of a CD Remaster from way back in the summer of 2000 only hammers that home. Here are the cat-like details...

UK released August 2000 - "Foreigner" by CAT STEVENS on Universal/Island IMCD 272 (Barcode 731454688727) is a straightforward CD Remaster of the 5-track 1973 LP and plays out as follows (36:07 minutes):

1. Foreigner Suite [Side 1]
2. The Hurt [Side 2]
3. How Many Times
4. Later
5. 100 I Dream
Tracks 1 to 5 are his 7th studio album "Foreigner" - released July 1973 in the UK on Island ILPS 9240 and in the USA on A&M Records SP-4391. Produced by CAT STEVENS (all songs by CS also) - it peaked at No.3 on both the US and UK LP charts.

Musicians:
CAT STEVENS – Piano, Electric Piano, Pianos III, Organ, ARP Synth, R.M.I. Electric Piano, Acoustic & Synthesized Guitars, Clavinet, Bass and all Lead Vocals
PHIL UPCHURCH – Guitar
PAUL MARTINEZ – Bass
HERBIE FLOWERS - Bass (only on "How Many Times")
BERNARD PURDIE – Drums (All Tracks except for GERRY CONWAY on Parts 2 and 4 of "Foreigner Suite")

Guests: 
JEAN ROUSSEL - Brass and String Arrangements (Electric Piano on Parts 6 and 8 of "Foreigner Suite")
PATTI AUSTIN, BARBARA MASSEY and TASHA THOMAS – Backing Vocals on Tracks 1, 2 and 4

The 12-page booklet reproduces the lyrics that were on the hard card insert that came with original vinyl LPs (front cover on the first page, back cover on the last) and that black and white painting he did of a Polar Bear. But some UK copies came with a 'Postcard' and of course that beautiful embossed sleeve that was so hard to keep clean - you don't get either. BILL LEVENSON supervised the reissue while TED JENSEN did the Remaster from original two-track analogue master tapes at Sterling Sound in New York. This CD sounds gorgeous - all the instruments clear, strong and present in your speakers. If anything - it seems to have brought the musicianship out more. A top job done...

"...There are no words...I can use...because the meaning still leaves for you to choose..." opens the 18:21 minutes of the 8-part "Foreigner Suite". Beautifully musical - the moods dip and sway - fast to slow - the production so damn good. You can hear Bernard Purdie's expert drumming, Phil Upchurch flicking those guitar strings - but most of all you can hear Cat giving it passion when he sings and the sheer range of instruments he plays. I've always loved this track - and yet at nearly nineteen minutes - it doesn't feel laboured or overstaying its welcome. The final part play-out when he sings "...The moment you fell inside my dreams...I realised all I had not seen..." is joyful and dare we say it - cool.

Preceding the album - Island Records UK tried the Side 2 opener "The Hurt" as a 45 on Island WIP 6163 in July 1973 with "Silent Sunlight" from the "Catch Bull At Four" album as its B-side. It's a great Cat Stevens melody lifted hugely by the 'oohs' and 'aahs' of the three Soulful ladies on backing vocals - Patti Austin, Barbara Massey and Tasha Thomas (Jean Roussel's String and Brass contributions help too). His always close to the surface pain and longing come screaming through the aching "How Many Times" - one of the LP's forgotten gems. Herbie Flowers plays a sweet bass but Cat’s own gentle tinkles on the piano also entrance. "Later" is a wicked foot-tapper that could also have been a lead off 7" single if not for its slightly saucy nature - Phil Upchurch, the girls and those Jean Roussel string arrangements (this one done in conjunction with Cat) all adding hugely to the overall sonic impact. "100 I Dream" has somehow always felt like the weakest song on the LP - but actually on re-hearing it in 2016 - I'm digging it a whole lot more - even if it isn't the greatest tune on the CS roster.

Reviewers always want to focus on 1970's breakthrough album "Tea For The Tillerman" followed by the glorious "Teaser And The Fire Cat" in 1971 - but Cat Stevens is one of those artists where I want to own everything because I know there'll be good stuff on them somewhere. And "Foreigner" contains a lot of that 'good stuff' (it’s online for peanuts too). 

"...Heaven must have programmed you..." - Cat Stevens sings on "Foreigner Suite". Indeed she did...

"Running Jumping Standing Still" by "SPIDER" JOHN KOERNER and WILLIE MURPHY (1993 Red House Records '25th Anniversary Edition' Expanded CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Good Times Don't Go To Waste..." 

"...Do you feel like an outcast...well the Red Palace is the name of the place...good times don't go to waste..." - John Koerner sings on the barrelhouse opener "Red Palace" where his six-piece ensemble of late 60ts Folk outcasts feel like The Band have hit a bar and hijacked the upright piano in the corner - drunk and fearless...

Taking its album-name from the Richard Lester Goons Film of 1960 (Directed by Lester and Peter Sellers) - Folky and Bluesman "Spider" John Koerner got together with Blues keyboardist Willie Murphy to make an album of all sorts. It's hard to describe this LP - part Folk-Rock, part Americana - it could easily be The Band album between 1968's "Music From Big Pink" and 1969's "The Band".

"Running Jumping Standing Still" is pictured and critiqued on Page 50 of the truly gorgeous hardback book that accompanies the November 2006 "Forever Changing: The Golden Age Of Elektra Records 1963-1973" 5CD Deluxe Edition Box Set - given a sort of 'overlooked' pride of place. And this gorgeous-sounding Red House Records ‘25^th Anniversary Edition’ Expanded CD Reissue and Remaster brings it to audio life big time. Here are the mixed-up details...

USA released February 1993 - "Running Jumping Standing Still" by "SPIDER" JOHN KOERNER and WILLIE MURPHY on Red House Records RHR CD 63 (Barcode 033651006329) is a '25th Anniversary Edition' CD Reissue and Remaster and plays out as follows (49:43 minutes):

1. Red Palace

2. I Ain't Blue

3. Bill & Annie

4. Old Brown Dog

5. Running, Jumping, Standing Still

6. Sidestep [Side 2]

7. Magazine Lady

8. Friends And Lovers

9. Sometimes I Can't Help Myself

10. Goodnight

Tracks 1 to 10 are the album "Running Jumping Standing Still" - released June 1969 in the USA on Elektra Records EKS 74041 and in the UK on Elektra EKL 4041 (Mono) and Elektra EKS 74041 (Stereo) – reissued in the UK in 1971 on Elektra Records K 42026. Produced by FRAZIER MOHAWK and recorded at Elektra's Paxton Lodge on the Feather Rover, Keddie, California - all songs by John Koerner and Willie Murphy. The STEREO MIX was used for this CD.

BONUS TRACK (Previously Unreleased):

11. Some Sweet Nancy

Musicians:

JOHN KOERNER - Guitar and Vocals

WILLIE MURPHY - Piano, Electric Bass and Vocals

KEN JENKINS - Trombone, Tenor Saxophone, Cello and Acoustic Bass

TOD ANDERSON - Horns

JOHN WILCE - Banjo and Mandolin

SANDY KONIKOFF - Drums

The gatefold slip of paper that is the inlay has brief but informative liner notes by ERIC PELTONIEMI about the 'might have been' album and its gestation, reissue credits and so forth - it even offers a potted Koerner/Murphy discography - but no photos and a distinct lack of wow. The same can not be said of the fantastic Remaster by ROGER SIEBEL from original tapes - this Red House Records CD sounds amazing - a tiny bit hissy in places but never dampened down or pro-tooled out of existence. There's warmth to these recordings that bring in my mind of the neutrality Link Wray achieved on his Link Wray and Mordecai Jones album in the early 70ts on Polydor (see review for "3-Way Shack").

"Spider" John Koerner and his eclectic voice/guitar tunings went way back with Elektra Records to 1963 and the legendary "Blues, Rags & Hollers" LP (followed in 1964 with "More Blues, Rags & Hollers"). Both records were Rag Mama Rag albums Koerner did with the duo of Tony "Snaker" Glover" and Dave "Liitle Sun" Ray. Those LPs shook up the Folk-Blues scene at the time and are hard to find (Rhino remastered both in 2004 onto 1CD when they began reissuing Elektra Records Folk artists in earnest). Koerner also had three songs featured on the equally legendary and wonderful "The Blues Project" LP on Elektra in 1964 - see my review of that inside February 2015 "The GREENWICH VILLAGE Folk Scene" 5CD Box Set in Rhino's "Original Album Series". Minneapolis kid Willie Murphy was a Keyboard and Bassist who would later go on to produce Bonnie Raitt's debut LP and ply his trade as Willie And The Bees following his departure from Koerner after their lone collaboration flopped.

Riding the shirt tales of November 1968’s "Music From Big Pink" by THE BAND - the Folk/Blues/Jazz/Vaudeville mash-up that is "Running Jumping Standing Still" LP hit the shops in June 1969 in the USA in a blizzard of Elektra publicity - but no one took any notice. But since its commercial failure on release – it’s gained a sort of hallowed reputation amongst Americana collectors as the illegitimate but deserving child of The Band’s musical legacy.

Actually “Running Jumping Standing Still” is a difficult record to describe. Never is this more apparent on the near eight-minute "Old Brown Dog" which is a Band amble on piano and acoustic guitar that despite its length doesn't overstay itself. And just when you think you've got a measure of its Americana folksiness - it launches into piano soloing that feels like Herbie Hancock let loose on a Steinway with a few brandies - and he don't care. It's quite brilliant really. "It Ain't Blue" has beautiful musicality in its 'lonesome' moan while "Running Jumping Standing Still" is fast and furious - like The Doors gone hillbilly. "Sidestep" is a Rock song at its guitar core while the excellent "Magazine Lady" even has slightly Psych brass sections that sound like Mungo Jerry popped a few mushrooms and turned on a microphone (it was picked as the track to represent the album on the "Forever Changing" 5CD Box Set). "Friends And Lovers" is a pretty piano ballad where they sound like Emitt Rhodes on Probe Records. "Goodnight" ends the record with Koerner 'putting to bed my tired head'. The Previously Unreleased song "Some Sweet Nancy" was meant for the record apparently but left off due to vinyl's limitations - it's excellent and similar to "Sometimes I Can't Help Myself".

A mad record - a great album - a cocktail of so many styles – "Running Jumping Standing Still" by "SPIDER" JOHN KOERNER and WILLIE MURPHY is all of these disparate things and worse. I dig it man. This is one orphaned son of The Band that deserves your cuddles...